Death and Rebirth
by The Full Neko Alchemist
Summary: Never think that the past remains dead and buried, because sometimes death itself can come back from beyond the grave. [Discontinued]
1. Starting All Over Again

**Disclaimer**: YGO GX and its characters do not belong to me.

**Summary**: Asuka x Judai - Never think that the past remains dead and buried, because sometimes death itself can come back from beyond the grave.

**Warnings**: All cards have their OCG effects unless they are anime-only, in which case I use their anime text. RL OCG/TCG rules apply, so there is no summoning in face-up defense plus due to RL rules I am using the banlist, which I am told is not present in the anime. This is based in Judai's third year. As the series based on Saiou's White Organisation is still running, I have had to hypothesise some of what has occurred in order to make this fanfiction work alongside canon. Due to this, I would appreciate any feedback on characterisations. Edo Phoenix is therefore a character that will be used. Plus Fubuki if I can, for everyone loves Fubuki.

Thanks to Jun, spelling mistakes are now fixed. I live in the UK, so I use British spelling.

-o-

**Death and Rebirth**

**Prologue**: Starting All Over Again

-o-

Yuki Judai, the current champion in a place called Duel Academia, was the kind of person who liked to be the best there was at what he did. However, he knew the importance of having fun and never seemed to put a person down; because of this, he was a person who was well liked, at least by most of his own dorm. He was also the most unlikely person to have made an impression on Tenjoin Asuka, who was known as the queen of Obelisk Blue. That was why Judai, a most improbable candidate for being the next King of Games, was the last person one would have expected to be caught up in the various plans that had unfolded all around him.

The brunette had first been caught up in the plans of Kagemaru, a man who had sought to regain his youth with the power of the three Sengenma. These demons had slept beneath the Duel Academia, a fact unknown to most of the students there. He had used people for his own ends, casting them aside once their purpose had been fulfilled; yet Judai had found it within his heart to tell the old man to start over. However, the most traumatising event during this time had been to discover that a man he had respected and admired had not been the man he thought he was. Daitokuji-sensei, the beloved leader of Osiris Red, had turned out to be the last member of the Seven Stars.

Then Daitokuji had died.

In the time after this, in the following year at the Duel Academia, Judai had made new friends, but he had also made new enemies. Targeted by the White Organisation, which was led by a man named Saiou Takuma, Judai had found himself being pushed beyond his limits. It had been a desperate time in which he had lost his friends and Hane Kuriboh, his partner, but they had all come back to him: even Manjyome Jun, who had been one of Saiou's victims.

Edo Phoenix had found his own path, but to this day the silver-haired boy still found himself thinking of his loss to Judai. Judai, however, thought little of it; he had enjoyed his duel and Edo was someone he wanted to get to know a little bit better. Even though they had a different name, the D-Heroes his opponent had used had showed his personality. They also sought justice, but they sought it a different way. In this life, differences did not matter. Actually, he _liked_ differences. They made things more exciting.

Waking up on the first day of the new school year, remembering everything that had happened in his life, Yuki Judai stretched out his arms to greet the day as he lay upon his bed. He then smiled; everything seemed to be going right for a change.

_Beep… Beep…_

Hearing a strange sound, Judai turned over on his bed and gazed blankly at the small white alarm clock positioned on his bedside table. The big hand was on five, whilst the little hand was on nine. Something seemed strange; he could have sworn he had set the clock to go off an hour earlier.

Suddenly, the time that it was hit Judai like a bolt from the blue. The duel would have started over ten minutes ago! He was going to miss Asuka's duel!

Thinking that he could catch the exhibition duel if he rushed himself, Judai jumped off his bed and got himself ready.

-o-

There was absolute silence around the duel arena as all those watching the match gazed in awe at the field. Asuka was stood on the right with a determined look on her face, her hand poised over her duel disk and ready to operate a facedown card. Her opponent, Edo Phoenix, was equally as calm. Principle Sameshima, who had returned from his vacation, had selected them to conduct the opening duel of the school year. He knew the both of them to be accomplished duelists in their own right and had been looking forward to such a match.

The fields could not be more different. Edo had out his E-Hero Phoenix Guy, with a set magic or trap card. Asuka, on the other hand, was focusing her strategy on nothing but her set cards; Scapegoat, which she had just activated, and a ready to be used Angel Wing. Since Edo had already destroyed her Cyber Prima, Cyber Tutu and Cyber Gymnastics, she had a backup plan. Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater were already in her hand; all she had to do was draw Polymerization and the stage would be set.

"Since I cannot destroy any more tokens for now, I end my turn," Edo declared. He gazed at Asuka from across the arena. "Make your move."

There was a slight atmosphere to the air. Asuka could still remember the events surrounding the White Organisation and she could not forgive herself for being so easily brainwashed.

"My turn; draw." Asuka drew her card then looked at it.

Satisfied, the blonde added the card she had drawn to her hand, after which she lowered her head. Asuka thought about the options open to her. She had drawn Polymerisation, but she needed to either let Edo summon another monster to boost her Cyber Blader's attack or to get rid of his set card.

"I end my turn."

Edo drew his card. Gazing at the three remaining sheep tokens Asuka had summoned, he burned with a desire to win this duel. To win this duel and be accepted here amongst the people he had almost destroyed would be a great vindication of his past deeds. Plus he would show Yuki Judai that he was correct about the path he wanted to take. People had to have a cause to fight for. In his hands were three cards: E-Hero Sparkman, E-Hero Bubbleman and D Time.

_If I can remove at least two tokens this turn, she'll be wide open for an attack come my next turn, since I have two monsters, _Edo thought. _However, I don't know what card she has set facedown. Hmm. I think I'll have a jab at her monsters. If I can make her waste that set card, I'll have done my job._

Taking a card, Edo laid it in face up attack mode on an open slot on his duel disk.

"I summon Elemental Hero – Sparkman in attack mode!"

The familiar monster appeared beside E-Hero Phoenix Guy soon after. It was a mirror copy of Judai's, save for its paint job. Instead of a blue colouring for its legs, arms and booster jets it was black as far as the eye could see.

_I can't fusion the two of them yet, nor would I want to_, Edo thought, gazing at Asuka's three tokens. _Two monsters will make this go quicker than just the one._

"Go, Sparkman, Phoenix Guy! Destroy her tokens!" he declared, reaching out with his left arm to point at Asuka's field.

At that moment, Yuki Judai came running into the arena through one of its many entrances. He ran up to the railings, which he gripped with his hands as the sight of Sparkman destroying one of Asuka's tokens hit him full force between the eyes. He waved at Asuka then went to see if he could find a seat. As he was walking down between the aisles, he missed Chronos De Medici giving him a scowl. Though this scowl was somewhat drowned out by the holographic pizzazz of Phoenix Guy destroying a second sheep token. Eventually, he came to be wedged between Tyranno Kenzan and Marufuji Sho. He was a lone sliver of red floating along in a sea of yellow. It was funny how everyone around him seemed to be moving on.

"So, how's Asuka doing?" Judai asked, levelling his question at both Kenzan and Shou.

"Not too bad, considering Edo duels in the Pro League," Kenzan remarked, his attention being pulled away from the duel.

"What's their life points?" Judai asked, ignoring Kenzan's remark about Edo.

"Asuka's are nine hundred, whilst Edo has two thousand five hundred," Sho replied. He gazed at Judai. "Aniki, you really should have tried to get here on time, you know."

Although Sho seemed to be chastising Judai, there was no anger in his voice. In fact, the blue-haired boy seemed to be quite happy. He was smiling at Judai, who in turn pointed at himself with a finger and then burst out in a round of laughter.

"I know, and I'm really sorry! It's just that I didn't get much sleep last night!"

Judai laughed as he spoke and reached behind his head to scratch the back of his neck. He had been caught up late, attempting to fix and improve upon the latest incarnation of his deck. Considering what had happened with Saiou, who had since left the Academia, he was glad to be given the chance to unwind.

"Oi; keep it down! Some of us are trying to watch the duel!"

Sho blinked as Kenzan scowled. He could not trust Manjyome Jun so easily, even if the other boy had been brainwashed by Saiou. There was something about the black-haired guy he just did not like.

Soon enough, all three boys and Manjyome had their attention on the game at hand. Having no other options, Edo ended his turn.

_She didn't destroy one of my monsters,_ he thought, thinking of the lone facedown card Asuka had. _If I can clear those tokens on my next turn, then I can take a direct shot at her life points. Heh, this ought to be interesting. So, Asuka, the queen of Obelisk Blue; at least you're giving me a good enough challenge. It's a shame I'll have to end this so soon._

"It's my turn; I draw!" Asuka looked at Edo. "Now I play Polymerisation, fusing Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber in my hand to summon Cyber Blader!"

Asuka reached out with her left arm as a holographic light appeared before her on the field. As her two fused monsters were discarded to her graveyard, Asuka smiled. She had waited for this for a long time and now that it was happening, she could show everyone around her not to take her lightly. As the light faded, the familiar monster Asuka had called upon in duels past appeared before her. Dressed in a red and white bodysuit, complete with a small miniskirt and a red visor over her eyes, the Cyber Blader settled down and remained silent.

However, Asuka was not finished. She looked at Edo's Phoenix Guy and Sparkman.

"Since you have two monsters on the field," she began. "My Cyber Blader has 4200 attack points! Now I will have her attack your - !"

"Then I activate Draining Shield!" Edo announced, cutting Asuka off.

Asuka narrowed her eyes as a shield appeared before Sparkman and absorbed the attack of her Cyber Blader, using it to refuel Edo's lifepoints, which jumped all the way up to 6700. She should have expected as much. She should have anticipated that facedown card, but she had not and now this duel had become a whole lot harder.

Wincing, the blonde took a card from her hand and set it on the field.

"I end my turn."

"Fine. My draw." Edo's hand swiftly removed a card from his deck. He gazed at it for a second then looked out at Asuka's field.

Asuka, meanwhile, braced herself for the look that she had seen on the boy's face.

"By using this card I just drew, Misfortune, I shall end this duel!"

When Edo had finished speaking, a shining green barrier appeared around him. It shimmered briefly and before Asuka knew it, her Cyber Blader was rushing forward to attack. She had seen this card when it had been used against Judai and knew that it was the end. With her Cyber Blader having over two thousand attack points, Edo had wiped her out with nothing but a single card.

"And now, your attack will be reflected right back at you!"

Asuka reached with a hand towards the monster she had special summoned from her fusion deck. However, she saw nothing but a bright wave of energy that blinded everyone in the room. She raised her arms, seeking to protect herself, but the incoming attack blasted her off her feet, knocking her down to the floor as she screamed in pain. Her lifepoints now reduced to nothing, Asuka found herself lying on the floor far away from Edo. So that was the power of someone in the Pro League.


	2. Calculated Decks

**Disclaimer**: YGO GX and its characters do not belong to me.

**Summary**: Asuka x Judai - Never think that the past remains dead and buried, because sometimes death itself can come back from beyond the grave.

**Warnings**: See chapter one.

-o-

**Death and Rebirth**

**Chapter One**: Calculated Decks

-o-

The next morning, the Dual Academia was abuzz with chatter and off-hand reports about the duel that had occurred between Asuka, the queen of Obelisk Blue, and Edo Phoenix; the duelist from the Pro League. Some of who had been there (ie all) liked to think that they were the next official commentator and had been giving their friends move-by-move annotations for that entire day. Asuka herself was sad that she had lost, since she liked to win, but she was glad that she had at least lost to a respectable opponent. Edo Phoenix, after all, dueled in the Pro League. He dueled in it, just like Ryou did.

Asuka fell silent, remembering her old associate and dare she say it friend. Even though Edo had dwindled Ryou's reputation ever since that defeat he had handed him, she could not believe that Ryou had become the type of man who wanted to win at all costs, no matter who he hurt in the process.

Right at this moment, Ryou seemed to be the total opposite of Judai.

As Chronos began explaining in detail the changes made to the latest banlist and why they had been done, Asuka found her mind drifting back to the brunette. He had fought for her freedom and that of his friends, and she felt glad that she was counted amongst their number. Some members of Obelisk Blue were snobbish elites, but Judai was not like that.

Asuka sighed. She thought fondly of Judai, but she did not want to wreck their friendship by turning it into something more. She had seen the same thing happen to several of her friends and did not want to end up the same way.

_I may have ended up with Ryou, but I don't like him the way he is now_, Asuka thought, right as Chronos gazed up at her from where he was standing.

"Signorina Asuka. Please explain to the class why Graceful Charity used to be on the banlist, na no nae." Chronos fell silent, expecting to receive another pleasing answer from his favourite student.

"Yes, sir."

Rising from her chair, Asuka stared on ahead as she tried to put Judai out of her mind.

"Graceful Charity was originally banned for a number of reasons; namely that it provides a four for one advantage. It refreshes the hand, thins the deck, provides draw power and allows you to discard unneeded cards into the graveyard. This allows for things like discarding Jinzo and then reviving it with Call Of The Haunted or Premature Burial," she explained. "Shall I add anything else, sir?"

_I hope he lets me sit down, _Asuka thought.

"No, there is no need. As ever, Signorina Asuka, you provide me with a perfect answer," Chronos replied. "You may sit down."

Smiling, and sighing inwardly with relief, Asuka took her seat. She would focus on the other love in her life, dueling. That would help her to feel somewhat better about the situation. Graceful Charity was no longer banned, but Victory Dragon had for the first time made it onto the banlist.

Sure enough, the next student Chronos targeted was soon giving an explanation on why the Victory Dragon was banned.

Asuka listened to her Obelisk Blue companion as he began an explanation of the Victory Dragon lock, which involved such things as Dragon Tribe, a trap card, Time Seal and Drop Off. However, her mind wandered once more onto the subject of Judai.

Even if she were willing to risk their friendship, which she was not, Asuka knew that Judai would not recognise the feelings that he had for her. She did not want to seem hard on the boy, but he was an innocent when it came to matters of the heart.

Throwing herself back into her work, the blonde did not notice one of her two closest friends looking at her. Having known Asuka ever since they had met up on their first year, Junko had grown to know Asuka as a person. She knew that her friend was strong, or at least tried to appear to be. However, she had noticed that ever since Judai had arrived on the scene that Asuka was conflicted. She also knew why; Asuka did not want to risk the friendship she had earned with a rash move that at the end of the day came down to nothing more than teenage hormones.

As the lesson came to an end, Junko kept her gaze focused on Asuka as everyone began making his or her way outside.

Soon enough, Asuka, Junko and Momoe were separating from the crowd to go back to the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm. Asuka wanted to make some amendments to her deck, but on the way there the talk soon turned to more personal matters.

"So… about Judai?"

"I don't think he knows," Asuka murmured, and she gazed down sadly at the ground. "Judai seems… I don't know how to say this without being mean, but he seems too _dense_ to see how I feel. That's what I like about him though; his honesty. He's not like how Manjyome used to be."

Already knowing how her friend felt about Judai, Junko remained silent and allowed Asuka to speak freely. She knew that it was important that sometimes one could get things off their chest.

"Anyway, I'm fine," Asuka said. She saw the concerned look on Junko's face and smiled. "Really."

"Asuka, are you sure?"

"… Yes, I am."

For Asuka, there was only one love in her life and that was dueling.

-o-

As Asuka, Junko and Momoe were crossing the Academia grounds, Judai's brown eyes were focused on Misawa. The duelist was working on siding a new card into his deck and Judai was watching on from where he was sat cross-legged on his bed. Sho was out getting lunch so him and Misawa had been left on their own until their friend returned.

_I wonder where Sho is,_ Judai thought. He looked over his shoulder at the open door, the light shining in from outside. _He should have been back several minutes ago. Oh well._

Judai stopped thinking about food, but it did not last for long.

A loud rumble echoed across the room, causing Misawa to look up from where he was seated by Judai's desk. Judai could not help but notice the curious expression on his friend's face and chuckled sheepishly.

"Heh. Was that me?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

Judai then paused.

"When Sho gets back, I think I'll go and get some food myself," he declared.

"Do whatever you want. I'll be here working on my deck," Misawa replied. He reached into his deck holster that was attached to his belt and began inspecting the sleeveless cards he had pulled out.

At that moment in time, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Judai called.

The door opened to reveal Tyranno Kenzan. The Ra Yellow Student nodded a greeting to Misawa, after which he smiled at Judai.

"Hey, Sho's got himself locked out of the Osiris Red kitchens!" Kenzan announced. "You should see the look on his face!"

Silence descended on the room as Kenzan then fell quiet. Judai wondered what thoughts exactly were crossing his friend's mind, but he could hazard a guess. His friend, along with Sho, had lost their tag duel against the two who had wielded Zaborg and Mobius, the Monarchs of Thunder and Frost. He himself had been feeling down when he had been left unable to see his Duel Spirit partner and could understand in part how Kenzan was feeling.

_Everyone has to hurt sometimes, _Judai thought.

Judai stopped thinking and gazed back across the room at Misawa, who was by now rearranging his deck into some sort of order. Rising from his place on the bed, he got up and moved to peer over Kenzan's shoulder. His friend must want to be stronger so that never again he would be put into that position.

"Aren't the keys hanging up somewhere?" Judai asked. He would have told Kenzan to go and ask their Dorm Leader, but they did not have one. That and Daitokuji was gone.

The kitchen itself was another matter. What had been locked, to be more precise, was the fridge. This was because Pharaoh, Daitokuji's pet cat, had developed the uncanny ability to open said fridge and eat all its contents.

Right then, Judai's eyes wandered over to his duel disk, which lay unused on his bed.

"Hey Misawa! Do you want to duel once you're finished? I'll be glad to help you test your deck out."

"I can't," Misawa replied. "I've got to duel Mr. Hiruma soon. Perhaps afterwards."

Nodding, Judai went back across the room to fetch his duel disk. He was in the mood to duel today, but since Misawa could not do so, he planned on asking Sho. Well, he planned on asking Sho when Sho got back from those locked kitchens. Now that he thought about it, he could recall Misawa saying something earlier on about that trainee-professor.

Thinking about his friend's upcoming duel, Judai looked back at him.

"Hey, do you mind if we come and watch?" he asked, referring to himself, Kenzan and Sho.

"Heh, be my guest. Well, I'm all done now."

Checking his deck one last time, making sure that all his cards were in place, Misawa smiled. He had heard about the deck that trainee was running and although he would not compromise on his integral theme, he would make sure that he would not have two thirds of his deck cut off by his opponent.

_This will be a good way to test my revamped deck, _Misawa thought.

Upon learning the contents of the trainee's deck, Misawa had challenged the man to a duel in order to test something out. He would make sure that he would be able to succeed.

Backing up his chair, Misawa rose from where he was seated at the table and grabbed his jacket from where it hung over the back. Putting it on, he took his newly sorted deck from the table and inserted it into the upper left pocket.

_I will calculate all the moves he shall make in order to secure victory._

Misawa smiled as he took his duel disk. Leaning up against the wall, he hooked it onto his arm and put it into the ready position. He was looking forward to this duel. Turning to face Judai and Kenzan, who had since moved into the room, he jabbed his thumb towards the door.

"Shall we go? I can't keep him waiting," he said.

"This'll be fun. Let's go and get Sho, Judai!" Kenzan replied. He then paused. "Hey Misawa, where are you two dueling?"

"Outside this dorm. Holding the duel here made it easier for both of us," Misawa responded.

Kenzan nodded and walked out of Judai's room. Judai followed soon after, leaving Misawa on his own. Misawa smiled and then he followed suit, closing the door behind him.

-o-

Outside of the Osiris Red Dorm, sitting at a table that overlooked the entrance to the cafeteria, a man sat sipping a cup of tea. Having brought his flask with him, he was sitting down and waiting for the student he was supposed to duel to arrive. Black hair fell down either side of his face, the sunlight making it seem almost silver in colour. The breeze that was gently drifting through this place made it a nice area in which to sit and relax.

"So Mr. Hiruma, are you ready for our duel?" a voice asked, and the man raised his head to see himself gazing at Daichi Misawa.

Having won several of his duels, though by no means all of them, the trainee-professor nodded and rose from his chair. He took the reading glasses off his nose and folded them, putting them back into their case that soon made its way inside his uniform.

"Yes. I must thank you for agreeing to this," the trainee answered, smiling as he saw the three boys standing behind Misawa. "Also, I see you have brought your friends with you."

"You don't mind, do you? They wanted to come and watch."

"Oh no, not at all. It would be my pleasure," Hiruma replied.

Misawa watched on as the trainee-professor moved back behind the table and leaned down to pick something up, which turned out to be the man's duel disk. He lightly fingered his own, which was hooked up on his arm and ready to go at a moment's notice.

"Shall we get started, then?" Hiruma asked.

"Of course." Misawa turned around and smiled at Judai. "You know, you should watch this duel carefully. There's always a good chance you'll learn something about a future opponent by studying their moves."

"I said I'm watching, right? Sho and Kenzan are too!" Judai replied, with a smile.

Misawa chuckled at Judai's words. He then turned to his right to see Hiruma standing out on the field outside of the dorm. It would be a big enough space for what they needed to do. He knew who this man was, what kind of deck he ran and his win lose ratio. With this deck, the odds would be tipped in his favour. Not by luck, but by planning.

Walking away from the Osiris Red Dorm, Misawa walked up to his opponent.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Sho asked.

"It's Misawa. Of course he'll be fine!" Judai replied, smiling. He walked ahead of Sho and Kenzan. "Come on, let's go watch."

As the three students moved away from the dorm to watch the duel that was about to occur, a large tabby and brown cat slinked up towards them from where it had been watching behind Sho's legs. It arrived up behind the blue-haired boy, who noticed his presence and bent down to rub him gently behind the ear in an affectionate manner.

"So, shall we duel?"

Misawa nodded in response to Hiruma's question.

"So which deck do you want to face?" he asked.

Hiruma smiled.

"Surprise me. You may go first."

Misawa nodded, after which he reached up to take out the deck he had just been working on. If he were able to remove even one of Hiruma's two key cards, Misawa knew that he would take the lead. Once he was done, the two men activated their duel disks and slotted in their decks.

Misawa kept his eyes focused on his opponent. This promised to be interesting. He always liked to face new opponents.

"Duel!"

-o-

The life point counters increased to 4000 apiece.

Drawing his first card, Misawa remained quiet as he added it to his hand and began to form a strategy. If this man were running what he thought he was, then he would want to stop his monsters being destroyed. Better than that, he would let Hiruma fall right into his trap.

Taking a card from his hand, Misawa inserted it into his duel disk. The man, if he summoned anything this turn, including one of his prized monsters, would be in for a nasty surprise. Taking a second card, a monster, he laid it on his duel disk, summoning it to the field. Ordinarily, he would not have set his trap card until the end but going first allowed him to establish his strategy.

"First I shall set a card, and now I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode," Misawa said, a calm tone to his voice.

There was a burst of light and the horned monster appeared on Misawa's field, wielding a wickedly bladed axe inset with purple stones.

"I end my turn."

"My turn; I draw," Hiruma announced.

Misawa remained silent as the trainee-professor took a card from his deck.

"I set one monster, followed by one magic or trap card and end my turn."

"So you're not attacking," Misawa said, observantly, drawing a card. "That's your mistake. I shall now have Vorse Raider attack your set monster!"

Hiruma's eyes closed as Vorse Raider assumed a battle stance and then threw its axe like a boomerang at his set monster. Misawa noticed the man's behaviour and knew that he had to have hit something. The axe cleaved the facedown in two, revealing a small round fiend curled up into a ball. It then disappeared in a shower of light.

Misawa recognised the monster immediately.

"Sangan, I see." He gazed across the field at Hiruma. "What monster do you fetch?"

"Man Eater Bug," Hiruma declared.

Soon enough, the black-haired man had reached into his deck and pulled out the monster he wanted to fetch. As the rules stated, he showed the card to Misawa and then added it to his hand.

Meanwhile, Sho, Judai and Kenzan watched on attentively. Judai especially. He found this duel to be interesting, like so many others.

Misawa thought about the card Hiruma had retrieved. It would not fall prey to his trap card. More than that, if he summoned a second monster and then attacked, the trainee would no doubt choose to destroy the second monster that would have attacked him directly. He had not drawn the counter card he wanted, but he would deal with _that_ trap card if it arose, one way or another.

"Very well, I end my turn," Misawa announced. He still had enough life points remaining to not be afraid.

This man was training to teach at the Duel Academia as a professor. It was only natural he had _some_ skill.

"All right, it's my turn. I draw!" Hiruma paused for just a moment. "I activate Card Destruction! We both discard our hands and draw from our decks the same number of cards that we discarded."

Having no counters, Misawa discarded his four cards to the graveyard.

"Mine were Mystic Tomato, Invader Of Darkness, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell and Offerings To The Doomed," he announced, after which he looked at Hiruma. "What were yours?"

"Devil's Sanctuary, Man Eater Bug, D.D Capsule, Masked Dragon and Stamping Destruction."

Misawa thought about what Hiruma had discarded. Devil's Sanctuary was no doubt to hold off his Vorse Raider or to provide tribute for a higher-level monster. DD Capsule was risky, since it was easily removed by magic and trap destruction. Masked Dragon would search out other dragons, whilst Stamping Destruction would no doubt have been used to destroy his facedown trap. This man was trying to reach his core monsters as soon as possible, or so it seemed.

The theory of the Ra Yellow student was soon proved right. Hiruma took a card from his newly refreshed hand and laid it on his duel disk.

"I now summon The Black Flame Dragon of Horus Level Four!" he announced.

There was a shower of light, and soon an odd-looking monster stood before Hiruma. It could only be described as a silver metallic chicken.

Sho seemed to like the look of it; there was a smile on his face as he whispered something to Judai, who also smiled.

Misawa started to chuckle.

Hiruma's eyes narrowed. What was this boy up to?

"I activate my trap card; Bottomless Trap Hole! Any monster you normal summon, flip summon or special summon that has 1500 or more attack points is removed from the game! Say goodbye to your Horus!" Misawa declared.

However, Misawa's eyebrows started to rise when Hiruma chuckled just like he had.

"I chain my set card; Royal Decree!" Hiruma said, a slightly smug tone to his voice. "I trust you know of the chain rule? Your trap is useless!"

Misawa remained silent. He should have known Royal Decree would be pulled out this early, but he could work with it. It meant that if it was destroyed, Hiruma would only have two more to fall back on, and _those_ were the ones he could counter. His left eyebrow twitched as he then remembered what would happen to his Bottomless Trap Hole. Due to the chaining of Royal Decree, it would take up a spot on his field. On the other hand, considering that Royal Decree stopped all other traps, it was hardly something to warrant him worrying.

"Fine. Do you want to want to do anything else?" he asked Hiruma.

"Of course. I'll activate _this_ spell card!"

What greeted Misawa next made him grimace. There would be no way to stop what was happening.

"I play Level Up!" Hiruma declared.

As the trainee spoke, something seemed to be happening to his monster. Its legs started to elongate, the claws it had becoming more pointed and bird-like. As this happened, the monster's wings started to unfold and grow. Finally, its beak stretched out and became more like that of an adult and a loud shrill echo resounded around the dueling field.

"That's so cool!" Judai exclaimed, from the sidelines.

Misawa glanced over at the brunette, but he quickly returned his attention to his opponent.

"By sending Horus Level Four to the graveyard, you get to special summon Level 6 from your deck," Misawa said, to which Hiruma nodded.

"Exactly, and I am sure you know what will happen next. Horus, attack his Vorse Raider!"

Horus obliged, and it flapped its wings. A burst of holographic energy simulating wind tore through the Vorse Raider, lowering Misawa's lifepoints to 3600 and forcing the student to shield his face from the backdraft.

"I'll set one card and end my turn," Hiruma announced, looking across at Daichi. His lips curved up into a smile. "I am sure you know what happens next. Since my Horus Level Six destroyed your Vorse Raider in battle - "

" – You can special summon Level Eight from your deck in its place," Misawa finished.

"Precisely. Allow me to show you my greatest monster! Horus, evolve!"

Misawa could not help but notice the smile on Hiruma's face as Horus underwent another change. He grimaced visibly – this meant that his magic would now also be rendered useless. However, he had planned for such an eventuality.

Black flames similar to its last evolution conflagrated around Horus and it started to unfold before both players' eyes. Its wings stretched outwards as it tail grew longer, ending in a sharp point. Its beak seemed to harden as a blue-tinged growth emerged from its head and scales hardened around its growing legs. The black flames receded, and a loud screech echoed throughout the area.

"You know what this means," Hiruma said, smiling. "No more magic for you."


	3. Closing The Duel

**Disclaimer**: YGO GX and its characters do not belong to me.

**Summary**: Asuka x Judai - Never think that the past remains dead and buried, because sometimes death itself can come back from beyond the grave.

**Warnings**: All cards have their OCG effects unless they are anime-only, in which case I use their anime text. RL OCG/TCG rules apply, so there is no summoning in face-up defence. This is based in Judai's third year. Feel free to nicely point out any mistakes I make in characterisation since this is my first GX fanfiction. There was going to be more on the end of this chapter, but the duel itself was pretty long and this is running close to three thousand words and several long pages. Heh. If the ending seems a bit cruddy, I apologise. It's late here and I am very very tired. Anyway, never fear. There is a plot.

On the other hand, you now know I like to write duels.

-o-

**Death and Rebirth**

**Chapter Two**: Closing The Duel

-o-

The silver duel monster hung imposingly in the air, not needing to beat its wings to stay aloft. Seeing another chance to make its presence felt, it did so; the loud cry, shrill in tone, glided swiftly on the air. It rushed from the dragon down to Judai and seemed to take a right turn and head straight for Misawa, who grimaced. This was a tough situation, yes, but he had planned for it.

"I end my turn," Hiruma declared.

There was no words like 'do your best' or anything like that. Just a quiet, thoughtful gaze Misawa could see was directed at him.

"My turn; I draw." Misawa gazed at the card he had taken from his deck and added it to his hand.

"I set one monster and end my turn."

Before the Ra Yellow student appeared a set card, which lay horizontally across the field. He would not waste the cards that were in his hand. His set monster was what would make all the difference. Horus decks attacked, so his opponent would have to take out his set monster. He just hoped the man did not have a Shield Crush or Nobleman Of Crossout.

Over on the sidelines, Sho was quietly watching the duel. The way this trainee, Hiruma, was locking down Misawa's options reminded him in a way of his brother.

Returning his mind to the duel, Sho continued to watch on as Hiruma smiled at the set monster on Misawa's field. Misawa remained equally as impassive. Even if Hiruma summoned a second monster and attacked, he could survive as long as his monster died as a result of battle.

Gazing at Hiruma, whose eyes returned his look, Misawa waited for his opponent to make his move.

"Now I shall summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!"

There was a burst of energy and in front of Hiruma and his Horus appeared a second dragon. Its body shimmered in the sunlight, which seemed to refract off the deep blue gemstone that the dragon seemed to be made out of, right down to its jagged claws and thin wings.

_So he wants to attack? Well here it comes_, Misawa thought.

Misawa raised his head to see Hiruma's hand outstretched.

"Luster Dragon, attack his facedown card!" the trainee declared.

The dragon opened its mouth and from it was expelled a burst of crimson energy. Misawa shielded his eyes with his right hand as the attack tore through his facedown card and enveloped him in a wave of energy. Misawa gritted his teeth and bore the brunt of the attack.

However, the attack had also revealed something else; a strange-looking tomato that had a crazy grin on its face. Its tongue rolled out and then the monster disappeared, along with the rest of its card.

_Yes! He fell for it!_

Misawa reached for his deck as Hiruma muttered a silent curse. Sifting through it, the student took out the monster he wanted, and then he reshuffled his deck and inserted it back into his duel disk.

"My Mystic Tomato, when destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, has the ability to special summon one dark-attribute monster with one thousand five hundred attack points or less from my deck to the field," Misawa explained, and his gaze focused upon Hiruma as he placed a card on his duel disk. "The monster I choose is Newdoria!"

"What?" Hiruma's eyes widened upon realising what Misawa's plan was. "No! Not that!"

"I see you know, sir."

Watching Hiruma set a facedown magic or trap, Misawa smiled to himself. His plan had worked. Hiruma did not want his Horus to be selected as the target of Newdoria's effect. When destroyed and sent to the graveyard in battle, he got to choose one monster on the field and destroy it. Of course, he would destroy Horus.

"I set one cover card and end my turn," Hiruma said, his voice now calm.

"I draw."

Taking a card from his deck, Misawa gazed over his hand. His fingers then reached towards Newdoria. He could have attacked Spear Dragon and destroyed it, but he was worried about that newly set card.

"I change Newdoria to defense mode," Misawa said.

As he spoke, Misawa found himself thinking up things. A plan was forming.

So far, he had in his hand End Of The World, Graceful Charity, Giant Germ, Hammer Shot, Dark Necrofear and Kuriboh. The uses of them were obvious. Giant Germ, when destroyed in battle, dealt five hundred damage to his opponent and special summoned two more from his deck to the field, thinning said deck. If he set it, Hiruma could not guess what monster it was. That would psyche the man out. Graceful Charity was pure draw power. His Kuriboh prevented battle damage and would fuel Dark Necrofear, as would his Germs. Hammer Shot destroyed a monster with the highest attack on the field. However, he would not use that until he drew a needed card.

End Of The World, as it stood, was one of his key cards.

Misawa smiled. Everything was starting to come together.

-o-

From where he stood watching the duel, Yuki Judai smiled. He gazed out at the field and appreciated the game that was on, as well as all the combos. Perhaps he could duel Hiruma sometime; it would certainly be interesting! To face someone who specialised in rendering two thirds of your deck useless was a challenge he wanted to get his teeth into.

"Go, Misawa!" Judai exclaimed, rooting for his friend.

Behind Judai, Kenzan crept up silently. He gently knocked Judai on the head and smiled.

"I know you're excited, but let the man duel!"

Back on the field, Misawa set a second monster.

"I end my turn," he announced.

Hiruma remained silent as he drew a card. Misawa saw the man inspecting his hand and he caught sight of a frown upon the trainee's lips. He obviously had no more monsters. That or his hand was full of traps.Who could be visiting him at this hour?

Feeling assured another monster would not be summoned, Misawa waited.

"Luster Dragon, attack his facedown card!"

Once more, Misawa's set monster was destroyed by crimson energy. Except this time, the monster was not a plant but a germ. It hovered above the field before it disappeared. Hiruma made a small noise as his life points dropped to 3500. Soon enough, the lone germ had been replaced by two more.

"It's nothing but a scatch," Hiruma murmured. "Horus, attack one of his Germs! Wipe it off the field!"

Horus's mouth opened and out of it was shot a streaming jet of black flames. It burnt a holographic path across the field towards Misawa's monster. Striking the monster, the black stream of flames ignited into a giant dome of gas that expanded outwards, licking the surrounding area.

"How do you like that!" Hiruma's voice called, echoing over the attack.

Giant Germ shattered and died, taking Hiruma's lifepoints down to 3000, but Misawa had a trick up his sleeve.

"You should have expected me to know my Germs would be vulnerable to your monster," Misawa began. He took a card from his hand. "I discard Kuriboh to void the damage!"

A small cry of 'kuri-kuri' echoed across the field and suddenly Judai's laughter echoed through the air.

"Oh man! That's a good one, Misawa!"

"Hey, Misawa! I never knew you liked Kuriboh!" Kenzan called.

Misawa remained silent, his mind fully focused on the game.

_I have three fiends in my grave. I could use Dark Necrofear, but I don't know what his facedown card is. Still, she activates her effect when destroyed so… Yet, he won't attack Newdoria so I have an almost permanent wall. His hand is clogged, so he won't have many monsters, if none at all, to summon._

"Tsch. I end my turn then," Hiruma announced, visibly annoyed that his attack had failed.

"My turn; draw."

Misawa gazed at the card he had just drawn; staring back at him was the image of a devilish knight riding a derelict horse, wielding a sword and shield. It had four stars and he felt lost to the world when he remembered what it was the knight did. Death Caliber Knight negated effects by destroying itself and the effect-using monster. If he activated a magic card, Hiruma would use Horus to negate it. Then the effect of his monster would kick in and destroy Horus, leaving the field open for his end move.

_I had not expected to draw it so soon_, Misawa thought. _Judai's luck must be contagious. No, it's not luck. It is just the law of probability._

Smiling at the thought of bringing an end to the duel, Misawa gazed over the field.

"I summon Death Caliber Knight in attack mode," he said, his voice calm.

"I've never heard of that monster before…"

"And now, I activate Hammer Shot to destroy the monster on the field with the highest attack! That would be The Black Flame Dragon of Horus!"

"Not so fast! I activate Horus's effect to negate - !"

"Death Caliber Knight."

Those three words echoed across the field and Hiruma fell silent. Misawa could see from the shocked look on Hiruma's face that the man had finally remembered what his knight could do. It was his loss. If one wanted to be a professor at the Academia, then one had to have an almost unrivalled knowledge of the game. Professor Chronos did and was well respected for it, especially by Judai.

"The effect of your monster is negated and both him and Horus die," Misawa added, finishing off his sentence.

As Misawa spoke, his monster and the silver dragon Hiruma was so fond of using started to turn a funny shade of brown. Bit by bit, their bodies crumbled into sand that disappeared and eventually left the field short of two monsters.

The field was eerily quiet. Hiruma stood motionless, left dumbfounded by the destruction of his monster.

"That's not… possible. How could I forget something so simple!"

Misawa, however, was remaining calm. He felt assured that facedown card posed no threat.

"Since Death Caliber Knight destroyed Horus, the effect of Hammer Shot stands," he declared.

Above Luster Dragon appeared a hovering log of great proportions. Suddenly, it descended through the sky, gathering speed. Before too long, it hit the spot where the dragon stood, crushing it. Blue gems that had once formed the monster's body scattered throughout the field and then disappeared.

"Now I'm wide open," Hiruma growled. With Royal Decree set, his facedown card was nothing but a bluff.

"Precisely. Now I activate End of The World," Misawa announced, his thumb and forefinger brandishing a card. "By discarding Dark Necrofear, I can ritual summon Demise, King Of Armageddon!"

Misawa took the blue-coloured card from his hand after inserting the ritual magic into his duel disk. The ritual monster he had held in his hand was level eight and the magic required an exact sacrifice of eight stars.

In turn. Hiruma's eyes went wide as above his head the sky started to turn a clear shade of blue. An elaborate pattern etched itself out in white and the centre point started to glow. Suddenly, there was an explosion of energy from the middle of the mural, which flooded the surrounding area with a burning blue light. Once the light faded, standing in the middle of the field was a dark Duel Monster encased from head to foot in black armour.

The Duel Monster stared at Hiruma with what could only be described as boredom, as if the man was something to be trodden on.

"Oh my… that's great!" Sho exclaimed.

Misawa kept his attention focused on Hiruma as Kenzan nodded.

"You should know that my Duel Monster has a very special effect," Misawa began saying. "By paying two thousand life points, I can destroy every card on the field but Demise himself. However…"

His eyes fell on Hiruma's empty field.

"… Since you are wide open, I think I'll not pay them. This time. Instead, I activate Graceful Charity! I draw three cards, add them to my hand and then discard two of my choosing."

Misawa took three cards from his deck, the magic card going to his graveyard. He then looked at the three cards he had drawn.

"I shall discard Broww, Huntsman of Dark World and Sakuretsu Armor." Misawa dumped the two cards, but then he drew another from his deck. He held it up, showing the back to Hiruma. "When Broww is discarded to the graveyard by my card effect, I get to draw one card from my deck. More than that, he gets special summoned to the field!"

There was a shimmer of light and the duel monster appeared on Misawa's field, wearing fur-lined garments and wielding a small crossbow.

Misawa gazed at Hiruma.

"Broww has one thousand four hundred attack points. Demise has two thousand four hundred."

_Tell me, sir, do you feel lucky?_

Sighing, Hiruma closed his eyes as the two monsters attacked. His lifepoints dropped to zero and the holograms faded from view almost as soon as the attack had ended.

Misawa, knowing he had won, went over to Hiruma.

As he came nearer, Hiruma opened his eyes and smiled. He then raised his hands and began clapping.

"Congratulations. I'm pleased there are such good students at Duel Academia," Hiruma said, smiling.

"It was a good match for me too, sir," Misawa responded.

Thankfully, the man was not asking to shake hands. He would do so, of course, but he liked to be professional about things. Besides, he was not used to shaking hands in the first place. It was just his nature.

Over on the sidelines, Kenzan clapped slowly.

"Good. I'm glad." Hiruma smiled again at Misawa.

Thinking that the man seemed to be taking his loss almost too well, Misawa nodded his head but said nothing. One who smiled too often after losing was obviously hiding his or her feelings.

"Well, my boy, I am afraid I have to get going. Thank you for taking your time to duel me."

With that, Hiruma packed up his duel disk and left almost as quickly as he had arrived.

Misawa waited where he had been standing before he walked over to Judai and the others.

"So, Misawa, that was your dark-attribute deck, dono?" Kenzan asked. He came out from where he had been standing behind Sho and Judai and folded his arms across his chest.

"Yes, and it seems to have worked." Misawa paused for a moment. "I may take out the ritual monsters though."

"How come?" Sho asked, looking up at the taller student.

Misawa gazed down at Sho.

"Because for most of that duel they were clogging up my hand," he explained.

"Well, that doesn't matter! You won, Misawa!" Judai announced, almost interrupting the Ra Yellow student. "… Can I have your Demise, King of Armageddon? Since you said you're not using him."

"Judai! He said he was thinking about it!" Kenzan exclaimed. "Besides, I want it first!"

"No, it's mine!"

"Mine!"

"You two…" Sho spoke up, caught their attention and nodded in Misawa's direction. "He said he was thinking of removing it. Besides, why would you want it at all? You run dinosaurs and we _all_ know what you run, Judai."

Kenzan paused for a moment, considering Sho's words.

"I'd trade it with some kid who doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"So you are saying you would take advantage?" Sho questioned Kenzan, who paled.

"No, no, no!" Kenzan exclaimed, waving his hands. "It's called strategic collecting. You give them something they think they want for something you want. I'd never rip anyone off. It's not my style."

Watching Sho and Kenzan argue, Misawa smiled. He could understand why Judai found friends to be interesting. Perhaps there was more things in store for him in the future.


End file.
